Digital Garage Announces Startup Incubator in San Francisco to Bridge Japanese and U.S. Technology Communities

TOKYO, JAPAN and SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Nov 4, 2013) - Digital Garage (www.garage.co.jp) (TSE: 4819) today announced the launch of DG717, a new startup incubation and office space in San Francisco's SOMA district to bring Japanese and Western technology professionals together. Opening December 1st, DG717 will act as a hub to connect companies, new talent, partners and investors with one another to foster a community of innovation and growth. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee will do the honor of cutting the ribbon to begin preparation for the offices on Tuesday, November 5th.

"Tokyo and San Francisco have remained two of the world's leaders in technological innovation for more than three decades," remarked Digital Garage President Kaoru Hayashi. "As the lines between international markets continue to fade, the benefits and knowledge our two communities can share and build upon is nearly limitless. We've never been more excited about the potential for our future ventures with this new incubator in San Francisco."

As a precursor to the launch of the new tech-community space, promising Japanese and Bay Area startups selected by Open Network Lab will showcase and pitch their products to interested partners and the venture capital community on the evening of Monday, November 4th. More information at the event website: http://dgopennetworklab.splashthat.com/

Setting the foundation for the soon-to-be-opened DG717, Digital Garage and Neo are hosting the New Context Conference, a two-day event Nov. 5th & 6th. With an eight-year history in Japan, the debut of the New Context Conference in San Francisco will feature intellectually stimulating presentations, conference sessions, and in-depth workshops.

New Context Conference is an invitation-only event hosted by Joi Ito and will feature keynotes from Joi, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Oblong Industries co-founder John Underkoffler, and a full day of lectures and case studies with Neo's top engineers, designers, and strategists and partners on the art of making better digital products. More information available on the conference website: http://www.dg717.com/

"Digital Garage and Neo are working together to make the new space a hub for creative thinkers, makers, and visionaries" said Neo Director and Digital Garage co-founder, Joi Ito. "We're eager for the space to encourage the frequent and unexpected interplay between people and ideas."

"Bringing together design, engineering, and strategy not only requires the right people, it takes the right kind of workspace," said Neo Founder & Chairman, Ian McFarland. "DG717 provides a dynamic place for our team and clients to collaborate and enables us to support the broader ongoing community dialog. We're looking forward to using the space to host regular meet-ups, hackathons, and also bigger events like our upcoming New Context Conference."

DG717 is appropriately located at 717 Market St., joining the city's rich collective of startups and technology companies continuing to make the Bay Area a focal point of the globe's changing economy. An opening celebration is planned for the night of Nov. 5th.

About Digital Garage:Digital Garage (www.garage.co.jp) is an innovative cutting edge Japanese tech company. For nearly 20 years, it has led the internet revolution in Japan by bringing the ISP, early search engine localization, and bringing important companies like Technorati and Twitter to the Japanese market, where they lead the social media revolution successfully. Its founders, Kaoru Hayashi and Joi Ito, are global leaders in the tech, art, and culture scene. Digital Garage is also home to Open Network Lab (Onlab), one of the most successful startup incubators in Asia, and has also opened its doors in San Francisco.

About Neo:Neo (www.neo.com) is a consultancy of makers who believe that digital products should deliver true value to people's lives. Neo helps organizations make smarter choices about what they create and how they create it. Their engineers, designers, and strategists work in tandem to tackle the riskiest, thorniest challenges head-on, and then deliver meaningful outcomes to both our clients and their customers. With offices in North and South America, Asia and Europe, Neo's clients include start-ups, governments, and large enterprises like Time, American Express, PayPal, Sunlight Foundation, GE, AT&T, ICANN and Turnstone.